Dear friends in ministry,
This summer a unique opportunity came to me/us to help 125,000 Iraqi Christian families who have been displaced by ISIS in Kurdistan, Northern Iraq. The connection is truly a “God thing” which I’m glad to explain when you have some time.
At present there are 1.8 million IDPs (internally displaced people) in the Kurdistan region who have fled from the region in Northern Iraq known as the Plains of Nineveh and other parts of the country. This means the Kurdistan region has 30% more mouths to feed, shelters to construct, and waste to dispose of, in addition to the educational and medical challenges presented. The people are thankful to be alive, but naturally missing the comforts and conveniences of their homes. They are now hoping and praying that the crisis will end soon; that ISIS will be defeated so they can move back to their homes to begin life anew. Please pray with them that this crisis will end soon.
Through a personal friend and ‘man of peace’ in their State Department, we have been asked by the Kurdistan Ministry of Christian Affairs to help 125,000 Christian families with financial assistance to purchase generators, fuel, cooling units, medical supplies and Quonset huts for school rooms and medical clinics. Sherwood Oaks launched a campaign last Sunday through December to raise $30,000 in assistance. We are asking our church family to consider making donations as alternative Christmas gifts.
We would love to make it a community-wide effort. I want to invite you and your congregations to join us in this effort. I’m attaching our brochure that can easily be tweaked for use with your congregation if you’d like to jump in. The Director of Christian Affairs is planning to visit Bloomington in mid-January. I’m planning to organize a visit to Erbil in April to meet with Christian leaders there. You are welcome to partner with us at any level that is comfortable for you. Let me know if you want more info.
Please take a look at the 2min Vimeo that we used to launch the campaign: https://vimeo.com/187835784.
Blessings,
Brad Pontius
Sherwood Oaks Global Outreach
812-345-3028
Click for Brochure: IDP Initiative Flyer